Dotted With Hearts
by Sheckler
Summary: When they started this thing they had between them, it was slow and sweet. When they ended it, they were left heartbroken and raw. -WIP- Contains slash.
1. Chapter 1: The Feast

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, don't sue.  
**Chapter Rating:** PG-13; some cussing and some implied sexual content.  
**Notes:** I ended up doing this because I needed to get my writing mojo back, so I had my friend pick random numbers (corresponding to characters) and another friend pick random numbers (corresponding to lyrics), so thanks to Raven and Court for their unintentional help. Inspired (and titled after) the song and lyrics at the beginning of the fic.  
**Pairings:** For now, I know that there will be Lucius/James (obviously), James/Lily, and Lucius/Narcissa.

**//////**

_All I can do is dream about you and me in never land  
But all it is, is a fantasy although it's heavenly  
It's a teenage dream,  
All wrapped in pink and dotted with hearts_

**Dotted With Hearts by the Horrorpops**

**//////**

"What's he doing here?" Sirius growled under his breath, his brows knitted close together in irritation and anger at the sight of Lucius Malfoy sitting at the head table reserved for the teachers in the Great Hall. The pompous look on the older man's face made James frown; six years their elder, Lucius was a right asshole and everyone that had been in school with him knew it. He'd been Head Boy during their first year at Hogwarts, and more than they had all been given detention from Malfoy for being out after curfew. James knew that some Hufflepuff girls had gotten in trouble for not making it back to their common room in time - three minutes late, and they'd gotten detention. "Bloody bastard. Look at his face! Looking down his nose at us like we're shit under his bloody loafers. He's not that much older, you know. Bloody bastard."

"Your eloquence never ceases to amaze me," Remus muttered, glancing up at Sirius with a raised eyebrow. Sirius looked appropriately sheepish, and Remus turned back to the book he'd been reading.

James rolled his eyes, trying to quell his amused grin at the interaction between his two friends. James echoed the Sirius's dislike for the blonde, but decided to keep quiet on the issue. No doubt that someone would know Malfoy's reason for being present in the Great Hall at the opening feast. "Hey! Guys!" Peter panted, sitting down next to Remus, across the table from Sirius who still glowered at Malfoy. "I just talked to Mary-Katherine -you know, the Ravenclaw with the nice tits?- and she knows why Malfoy's sitting up there at the teacher's table!"

'Cue Peter,' James thought, smiling to himself at his good call. "Why's that's Peter?" he asked his friend, propping his head into the palm of his hand. The First Years still weren't in the doorway to the Great Hall - James hated this part, the waiting.

"He's become an assistant teacher to Professor Szalcing," Peter gushed, happy to share his gossip. "For Arithmancy. Apparently he's been studying it at Argum Uni, and part of his graduation requirements have him working with Szalcing. Malfoy's going to be teaching a few lessons throughout the year, working as a tutor for third-years... But only part-time. Besides, Szalcing is about ready to croak anyway." When the other three stared at him with raised eyebrows and incredulous expression, Peter cocked his head to the side. "What? Mary-Katherine found out from Szalcing because it's her favorite subject and she wants to take an independent study next year to do more research on the number eight. Anyway, she told ME because, despite what you guys think, I do happen to have other friends. Just not as close."

James and Sirius snickered to themselves, trying not to say anything as Remus gave them a look. He was quite good at those. Then the werewolf turned to Peter. "As do I, Peter," he smiled kindly. Leave it to Remus to be the saint. "Argum's a fairly prestigious graduate school... I'm not surprised he's graduating from there." Remus tapped his chin thoughtfully, a habit of his that meant he was thinking something over. "James and I have Arithmancy this year... I do wonder how we'll fare under Malfoy."

Remus's words conjured an image in James's mind, one of sweaty skin and panting breaths, of dark, messy hair on a pillow and a curtain of blonde shielding both faces. Under Malfoy. James shook his head violently, causing Sirius to look at him oddly. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, and James cleared his throat, trying to banish the image from his mind. The black-haired Gryffindor shook his head, mumbling "nothing" and Sirius just shrugged and turned back to glowering at Malfoy some more.

The sorting started, and the Gryffindor table whooped and hollered loudly - the loudest of all the houses, if anyone asked James - as new first years came to sit at their table one by one. They all clustered at the end, some sitting awkwardly with older siblings (Charles Ullian and his younger sister, Lucy, for example; the girl's eyes were resolutely fixed to her plate) but it never failed to make James smile at their astonished eyes when the food appeared. They all dug in, James serving himself a heap of mashed potatoes on one corner, a stack of roast beef slathered in gravy taking up another, some green beans in another - Sirius and Peter never failed to tease him for his love of the green vegetable, and though Remus commended him for healthy eating, James never saw any on Remus's plate - and a roll to finish it all up for this current plate. The feat always lasted the longest, there being growing boys (and even some girls with hardy appetites) eating away at the delicious cooking.

Sirius had just slipped a dirty joke, making Remus snort in amusement, head ducking behind the book, and Peter's loud cackle-like laugh tumbled out. James laughed amiably, shaking his head as he picked up the cup to finishing off the last of his pumpkin juice, when the hair on the back of his neck prickled. Someone was watching him. Smothering the urge to shudder, James glanced surreptitiously around, looking for the culprit - when he came eye to eye with Lucius Malfoy. The older man's gaze didn't stray, and James felt put on the spot, swallowing around the thick lump that had formed in his throat - cold gray eyes surveyed him calmly, though James could have sworn there was something else in there, confusing him thoroughly. That gaze bored through him, and James felt something stir in his gut, warm and tingly (something that had previously only been caused by the curves of a female's body), and the image from before popped up into his mind's eye, just a fraction of a moment, but the result was the same. Lucius's eyebrow raised, the smirk quirking at his lips giving him an air of superior knowledge, as if he could see the effect he had on James.

Then Sirius jostled James, breaking the intense stare that seemed to last hours rather than the seconds it had in all actuality. Blinking a bit, James smiled easily, slipping back into conversation with his friends; what had that been about? Glancing back up at the professor's table, James noted that Malfoy had vacated early, though he hadn't been the only teacher to do so. A pang of something shot through his chest, feeling almost like disappointment.

**//////**

**A/N:** So there's the first chapter. I don't have a beta, and I don't have a spell-checker / grammar-checker (my version of Word is glitched in that respect, for some reason) so if anyone is interested, PLEASE let me know. I'd be eternally grateful. Other than that, reviews and concrit are *always* appreciated, but _flames are not_, so don't be an asshole.


	2. Chapter 2: The Trip to Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, don't sue.**  
Chapter Rating:** PG-13; some British (and international) cussing.**  
Notes:** I forgot to mention that this starts in the fall of 1976 (Marauders' sixth year) and ends in the spring of 1979. I'm making up some of the teachers' names, since they aren't canon / mentioned in the books. I apologize in advance for any grammar or spelling problems. More thanks to Court and Raven, btw, because they're just swell.**  
Pairings:** For now, I know that there will be Lucius/James (obviously), James/Lily, and Lucius/Narcissa.

**//////**

Three weeks into school marked the coming of the full moon, unfortunately for Remus. From his position by the fire in the common room, James watched him struggling to keep his usually infinite patience in check as Sirius prattled on and on about nothing in particular, but complaining the entire time. Peter had taken one glance at Remus's face and fled for sanctuary in their rooms. Other students milled about. Seventh years had grouped towards the back near a tapestry, playing poker and a few casually smoking cigarettes; first years clustered with each other by the tables near the stairs, working on homework together. Some third year girls spoke in whispered tones, staring at Jericho Pastor, a rather handsome seventh year, before breaking into giggles. Rolling his eyes, James went back to his essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Another teacher this year - Professor Urecht Harvey - would lead to another next year, and another, and another, just as it had always been. The position was cursed, now and forever; every Hogwarts student knew that.

Carefully dipping his quill into the ink well he'd set on the arm of the couch, James bit down on his lower lip in thought, wondering how to word the next few sentences, when all hell broke loose. "SIRIUS BLACK, IF YOU DO NOT SHUT YOUR MOUTH THIS INSTANT, I WILL HEX YOU TO BEIJING AND BACK!" Remus exploded, eyes burning more gold than their normal brown. Everything in the common room stopped and everyone's eyes turned to the scene before them.

"...Huh?" Sirius replied, mouth hanging open in obvious confusion. James rolled his eyes and shook his head at Sirius's continued "eloquence". He glanced around, feeling uncomfortable from the weight of everyone's eyes on the pair of them. James continued writing his essay, resolutely ignoring Sirius's pleading eyes as he looked at the book next to him to quote and cite in his essay -like most professors, Professor Harvey loved to see citations in the essays he assigned - because this was Sirius's problem to finagle himself out of. "Er, Remus, I, er, I think you should just, uh, calm down, you know, just for a moment..."

Remus glared at him; if looks could kill, Sirius would have been scorched to ash in seconds. James stiffled an amused grin - that wouldn't help him with Sirius or Remus, as they would both get mad - and continued writing, though it became more sarcastic and witty as he did so. His writing tended to reflect his moods, and the situation between Remus and Sirius only amused him. They'd be fine by the time Remus had to relocate to the Shrieking Shack, as they always were.

Since their first year together, when James and Sirius had stuck together like glue and Peter wedged himself in their as well and all three had adopted Remus even with all his mystery, the two fought like an old married couple. Sometimes James wondered about his two friends, about the true nature of their relationship, but every time those thoughts wandered into his mind, James would banish them and focus his thoughts on something else. For example, his essay.

"CALM DOWN?! Calm down, you tell me," Remus seethed, eyes narrowing as he continued to glare at Sirius. "Well you can just bloody well calm down! I've had it to here with your griping and whining so just shut the fuck up!" With that, Remus threw his things into his bag and stormed out of the common room; James scratched his chin absently, knowing that Remus was probably off for the prefect's bathroom to calm himself down. The full moon tomorrow night would be a welcome relief, and on a Saturday, too - it meant that they didn't need to rush to get back to school in time for their first classes.

James returned to the present time, snorting out a laugh at Sirius's incredulous face. "Come on, mate," James said, shaking his head. "You had it coming. You've been bitching to him all night, his monthly's coming up. You should have known better."

Sirius grumbled but accepted the truth silently.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

Saturday morning found James laying half-awake in his bed, staring up at the top of his four-post, at the fabric draping over. It was still dark out, so inside the drawn curtains seemed blacker than black. His eyes met darkness upon opening, though he couldn't stop his mind from racing through thought after thought.

Remus and Sirius, and their relationship with each other - James could imagine that yes, it was probably platonic, but he couldn't help the niggling voice in the back of his mind telling him that it had to go further than just irritation from the moon. Then came Lily, his darling redhead, the girl he'd had eyes for since their first day at school; her bright green eyes flashed in his mind, vivid in color, and then the shape of her lips, and the curves of her gorgeous body. But replacing Lily's usual place in his mind, the last thought before really waking up and going about his morning routine - and, honestly, leaving an impression on him for the rest of the day - was none other than Lucius Malfoy.

James started as he realized that Malfoy would probably be on his mind all day. He tried pushing the blonde out of his mind - tried putting Lily in his place, tried thinking of Mary-Katherine from Ravenclaw... hell, James even tried thinking about McGonagall, as awful as the thought truly was. But nothing would get Malfoy out of his head; still half-asleep, James just accepted the fact that the older wizard had invaded his thoughts and was there for good. He let the thoughts chase across his mind; images of Malfoy's elegant hands gripping a quill to write down the advanced number charts that he could only loosely understand, of Malfoy's hair cascading down around his face, and of his eyes, especially his eyes, a cold gray that sometimes turned into hot silver when James could catch them at the right time. He could acknowledge that Malfoy was a handsome man, most definitely, but James felt strange telling himself so. He'd never thought about men in any other way than as friends, so this new-found feeling in his gut, caused by none other than Lucius Malfoy who'd made Remus's first year a living hell, caused him no small amount of worry.

Breakfast came and passed with no interesting events; Lily still sat far away down the table from him, no matter how many times he made doe eyes at her. Sirius grumbled into his pumpkin juice, Peter rambled on about one thing or another, and Remus sat quietly engrossed in a book. James resolutely ignored the urge to look at Malfoy during breakfast, knowing that it would only lead to more lewd thoughts and unwanted fantasies running around his head. He needed to enjoy Hogsmeade, and enjoy the rest of his day before the moon rose and Sirius would be back in the Shrieking Shack, enduring the painful transformation from man to wolf.

On the walk to Hogsmeade, Sirius had asked James to distract Peter for a while so that he might be able to have a private word with Remus, to presumably apologize for "being a right bloody git" as Sirius had put it. Being the best of friends that they were, James readily agreed with a wide smile and a cheerful nod of the head. They meandered together in the back of the line of students while he and Peter busied themselves with plans for what to buy while at Hogsmeade. The shorter teen had his mind on buying a new sweets stash while James wanted to get some more stink bombs to torment the new caretaker, Argus Filch. When Peter started to ask about Sirius and Remus, James laughed it off easily.

"They're married, remember?" he joked, and Peter laughed at that as well. "Padfoot wanted to have a 'private talk'," James made the air-quotes accordingly, "with just him and Moony. It's nothing big, I bet. Just doing couple-y things and having together-time, I suppose." It was a joke between them that Sirius and Remus were married... though really only between James and Peter, seeing that Remus and Sirius would probably kill them both if they caught a word of it. Snickering to themselves, James and Peter made their way into Honeydukes past a cluster of third years who'd just bought their first sugar quills - James's favorite, but making their way through the gaggle of giggling girls was a feat in itself.

Peter never ceased to be amazed at the sheer amount of candies in the store. James would never cease to be amused by Peter's face - the phrase "kid in a candy store" never fit better.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

An hour and a half later, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had secured themselves a booth in the back. It'd been a hell of a wait, stalking the booths (because the tables would be just uncomfortable, honestly; people jostling them around, trying to get by, have a mug spill all over the table, because it'd happened before) and moving in whenever they could to scoop up a seat of their own. For a half hour, they tried and failed at getting a spot, losing it to seventh years and one to a group of fourth years - but only since they'd been there longer than the four friends had.

Rosmerta had swept by, taking their order of a round of butterbeers for the table. Sirius had oh-so-kindly agreed to pay for the first round after much coercing on James's and Peter's parts, and soon enough all four were slurping down the delicious concoction.

"I wonder how long butterbeer's even been around," Remus stated, as if surprising himself with the question. A pensive look came over his face as the young werewolf started to ponder.

"Why would you even wonder that, Moony?" Sirius asked his friend with a small laugh, one echoed by James and Peter.

"The oddest notions pop up in your mind," Peter continued, taking another sip of his own drink. "You know that, don't you?"

James opened his mouth to also comment on Remus's innate ability to say the oddest things when the door to the Three Broomsticks opened. Standing there in the oddly absent doorway was none other than Lucius Malfoy in a rather expensive-looking set of robes with a matching cloak and leather gloves. James's mouth went slack, and the other three turned to look -and then glare- at the person in the doorway.

"Fucking Malfoy," Sirius snarled, but he looked just as surprised as the rest of them when Narcissa Black, one of Sirius's older cousins, stepped into the doorway right next to him. She smiled up a storm, and obviously only had eyes for the blonde standing next to her. Gracing her with a rare smile, as just-barely-tolerant as it was, Lucius strode into the room and over to the bar, leaning on it almost disdainfully.

"What's Narcissa doing here?" Remus asked in a hushed whisper, all four sets of eyes on the pair at the bar. James couldn't look away for some reason, his eyes distracted by the lock of hair that had fallen astray from the tie keeping the rest of it away from his face. His friends' conversation faded into background noise, words he could just barely pay attention to processing. "Sirius," Remus kicked Sirius's foot under the table. "What's she doing here?"

"Hell if I know," Sirius snorted, and with Peter and Remus, started conversing about Malfoy and Narcissa Black. "Narcissa has always fancied him, as far as I know. At least, that's what had always teased her about... And get this." Sirius lowered his voice quite a bit in pitch just as Malfoy turned just the slightest towards their booth, as if he were listening. Still looking at him through narrowed eyes, convinced it was to see his reaction and not to stare more at his hair - a man shouldn't have hair that nice. "Bellatrix is getting married."

"That bitchy cousin of yours?" Peter asked in a hushed tone, trying to stay relatively quite as to not draw attention to their table. He could be discreet when he needed to. James curled his hand around his mug, tightening his hold minutely as Malfoy almost relaxed into the bar as he talked to Rosmerta. 'Merlin knows what that's about,' James thought to himself. "The one that's as mad about blood as your mum?"

Sirius nodded in affirmation. "The guy's a bloody prick. I met him over the summer, at that party I told you all about?" he grinned as he looked across the table at Peter. "The one where Andromeda got me drunk?" Peter grinned right back and nodded his understanding. "They showed up all prim and proper. Don't even love each other, I reckon. But you know how my family is. All about pure-blood this and pure-blood that."

James had nodded accordingly, still watching Malfoy from their booth. He straightened as he waited for Madam Rosmerta to come out from behind the bar, then tilted his head to the right to look over his shoulder, eyes darting over and catching James watching him. The older man gave James a slow smirk, almost a smile but not quite, and narrowed his gray eyes. James held the gaze for a long moment before a blush came over his cheeks, for whatever reason, and his eyes averted down to the table. He quickly took a sip of his butterbeer to cover it up amongst his friends, and glancing back up, James saw Rosmerta walk Malfoy and Narcissa down the hall that students were never allowed to go - private booths, for customers that could actually afford such a luxury. James could have sworn that the former Slytherin man had winked at him just before disappearing through the doorway.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

**A/N:** For Lucky1111- I'm not usually fond of Lucius, but I think planning out and writing this story has made me more fond of him. Plus the last book made me like him a little more.

I'm still looking for a beta! I need one to keep my characterization in check, and to check spelling and grammar that I might have missed. Anyway, please leave a review or some concrit! They keep me writing!


	3. Chapter 3: The Marauders

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, don't sue.

**Chapter Rating:** light R; some British (and international) cussing, and a vaguely described sex scene between two animals. No, seriously, it's vaguer than a tarot reading.

**Pairings:** For now, I know that there will be Lucius/James (obviously), James/Lily, Lucius/Narcissa, and Remus/Sirius.

**/**

Remus flinched at James's touch to his shoulder the morning after their trip to Hogsmeade. It was awkward the day leading up to Remus's transformation; he didn't want anyone to touch him, as if contact with anyone would turn them into werewolves. James was wiser than that, but didn't want to make his friend uncomfortable or otherwise put him in any worse of a mood than he no doubt would show later. James hoped that Sirius wouldn't mess it up as he had the tendency to do, but it was only breakfast after all. James passed Remus the plate of sausage, watching the skinnier boy put a sizable amount on his plate. Sighing softly, the black-haired Chaser started to let him mind wander off into the land of Quidditch, thinking about how much he looked forward to seeing the season start up again. Flying through the air, avoiding bludgers and other Chasers, passing back and forth, trying to make it past the keeper - James knew that Quidditch could be a stress reliever. At least, it was for him. The first day of practice had already been decided: tomorrow afternoon, three o'clock sharp. Thankfully there was plenty of time before and after Remus's transformation

Across the hall, James could see Malfoy writing down something on a length of parchment. The man paused, biting the very end of the quill. He looked deep in thought - 'A good look on him,' James thought before he caught himself. 'Doesn't mean you're gay, James.'

Thoroughly convinced of his manliness and masculinity, James didn't notice that Malfoy had glanced up and locked eyes with him until after the fact. Not knowing what to do, the Gryffindor went wide-eyed as a rosy blush stained his cheeks. James bit down on his lip, the blush growing darker with every passing moment until a small group of Hufflepuff boys crowded his view, blocking the staring competition of sorts that had taken place. Why was he acting so strangely? James ducked his head, refusing to look up towards the head table for the rest of the meal. Sirius, too busy trying to make Remus smile, didn't notice, and Peter was off in the library trying to study. Rather unlike him, but given his the scores on his OWLs, none of his friends protested his attempts to better his studies.

The rest of the day was theirs to spend as they wished; done with breakfast, the three headed back to the common room and up to their personal rooms to spend some time with Remus in peace and quiet. James opted to finish his Transfiguration essay, and get the number chart out of the way for later in the week. He'd do his Potions essay during first period tomorrow since Advanced Charms was a bullshit class, anyway.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

Remus left after lunch; he had become much too irritable to be around people any longer. After snapping at a pair of second years for spilling their pumpkin juice, he'd left in a huff while James looked after him with his mouth half open in mid-chew. Peter, across the table from James, had paused with his fork almost to his mouth to watch Remus leave, and Sirius moved anxiously in his seat next to James as he stared at the doorway, obviously longing to chase after the werewolf. James rolled his eyes at his friend, effectively renewing action from his previously stilled state, and finished chewing before raising his eyebrow at Sirius. "Just bloody go after him."

James didn't see either of them until sunset when Peter and he snuck out of the castle under James' invisibility cloak. They were both getting too big to keep this up, so thankfully this would be their last year - and thankfully Peter tended to grow more in girth than height so that the cloak hid their feet. (Last spring, Sirius and he had almost been caught wandering the hallways after dark by McGonagall because of their feet. Thankfully, she'd stopped, muttered to herself about Peeves and pesky ghosts, and then kept walking while Sirius and he huddled by a suit of armor, holding their breath until the click of her boots against the stone floor faded down the corridor.) They walked as quickly as they could across the grass to the Whomping Willow, and about ten meters back, Peter transformed into his Animagus before skittering towards the tree to freeze it on the knot. James gathered up Peter's clothes and hurried towards the hole that would lead them to the Shrieking Shack. Calling out to Wormtail as he slid down, James startled the rat with the sudden noise since he was still hidden by his cloak before Wormtail followed after him. In the basement, James shucked his clothing ad added it to the pile in the corner before calling out.

"Remus? Sirius?" James frowned in concentration, honing his hears in for any sounds. He heard Padfoot bark out a reply from the level above them and James smirked, knowing that Padfoot would be at Remus's feet with his head on Remus's knees and giving Remus those puppy-dog eyes. James joked about liking Sirius better as a dog, and canines were man's best friend, but Padfoot and Sirius couldn't really compare.

With the last of his clothes off, James rolled his neck and shoulders before morphing into Prongs. Prongs tossed his head back and forth before calling to Wormtail to go ahead of him up the steps. It was better that way since Prongs didn't need to worry about stepping on his tail or crushing him under a hoof. They turned for the living room, and the familiar decrepit decor greeted them; torn curtains let in the last bit of sunlight, casting an orange hue on Remus, sitting on the couch, and Padfoot, curled up next to him with his head on Remus's lap. Prongs would have laughed if possible at the predictability of the two.

The change happened pretty fast as the moon rose, Remus's clothes being shucked off haphazardly as the wolf began pulsing under his skin. Prongs hated to see Remus go through the pain, but at least when he became Moony, he could help "tame the beast," as the saying went. With a loud and vicious scream, one that always tore Prongs up inside, Remus's body began to change. His bones shifted, and Prongs looked away as he always did as Remus moaned with the pain and anger as becoming a beast every full moon; Wormtail, by his front hooves, sat transfixed like always; Padfoot, though, paced anxiously by the couch as he waited for the transformation to end. The nervous movements from Padfoot had to be the connection the two had as canines, otherwise Prongs would have pegged it to be a husband worrying over his wife in labor. Finally, though, Moony came out, panting with exertion from the change. He sniffed at all of them, eyes narrowed slits glowing golden yellow in the virtual darkness of the shack, before letting out a dominant growl. Padfoot trotted up to him, muzzle butting into Moony's cheek and neck in an affectionate gesture and the tense moment (routine by now) broke with the excited thwap-thwap-thwap of Moony's tail. Prongs trotted excitedly in response, feeling restless and wanting outdoors. As they all moved into the basement and down the tunnel that led them outside, Prongs couldn't help but think of them as his own little family, people to protect and care for and love - the Animagus was admittedly more romantic when in animal form.

They headed for the woods; it was the perfect place for a game of hide and seek, animal style. Prongs was the best seeker despite being a Chaser on the Quidditch team. His soft hoof-falls on the forest floor beat out even Moony's padded trots for the quietest approach. The three split off away from Prongs, leaving him behind in the clearing they usually met in, and he huffed out an unamused sound, hooves beating against the ground unforgivably. He would find them all, even Wormtail who liked to hid in logs and behind rocks. He waited a good thirty seconds before heading off in the direction Moony and Padfoot took. Sniffing at the air, Prongs followed the markings on the ground and fur caught on the trees as both of their scents overlapped each other. As usual, the two paired up to hide. Prongs could see them now in his mind's eye, taking off and weaving in and out of trees, their tongues lolling from their mouths in the pure joy that only running wild and free could bring.

He heard a noise up ahead and slowed his approach, wanting to be as noiseless as possible. He couldn't afford to lose both of them now, not when they would turn into two canines on a mission to outrun him - which they would. He huffed out an impatient breath and headed forward through the trees, making sure to avoid any leaves or pine needles that would give him away. Through the trees, he saw twisting bodies, and movement, and a low howl that was certainly not from pain. Moony had Padfoot's upper half pinned to the ground, and as soon as their movements and sounds registered in his mind for what they truly were, Prongs stopped walking entirely and his mouth dropped open. He was frozen for a long moment, unable to look away from the sight before him.

Then, he turned tail and ran.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

The next morning in Advanced Charms, James couldn't look Remus in the eye no matter how hard the werewolf tried to capture his gaze. He avoided looking at Sirius all through breakfast, claiming exhaustion from the previous night as the cause for his odd behavior. They bought it, especially when Peter started to drift off while drinking his pumpkin juice. James could afford to laugh as it spilled down Peter's chin and chest. Peter sputtered indignantly, obviously embarrassed by the mishap, before he too laughed and then cleaned and dried his robes. Flitwick took his position atop a chair at the head of the room, lecturing them on Protea Charms. James noted Nicholas Hazeroy sitting in the row in front of him, drawing robe designs in the margins. But James turned from the sweeping ink lines to the scroll in front of him. Furiously making headway on the Potions essay due to Slughorn fourth period, James barely noticed the little piece of parchment being pushed his way until he noticed Remus's hand appear near the fifteen-centimeter mark on his essay. He glanced over, jaw tight, and Remus pleaded with his eyes before dropping them to the obvious note he'd passed over. Sighing, James opened the note and froze for the second time in less than twelve hours.

_You saw us last night._

James swallowed and made a show of looking confused even while Remus bit his lip, giving James looks out of the corner of his eye.

_I don't know what you're talking about, Moony... Of course I saw you last night._

He folded the note up and stretched his arms out, inconspicuously dropping the note in front of Remus. Back to his essay, James's nostrils flared a little nervously as the note appeared at the top of his scroll again.

_I could smell you. I remember smelling you when Padfoot and I... well, you know._

James looked back over, face having gone slightly pale. Remus looked even more anxious and nervous than James did at that moment, and he sighed and dropped his gaze to the note, scribbling his own thoughts back.

_Okay. So I did see it._

Remus rubbed at his forehead upon reading. It was another nervous habit, one Remus pulled out only when he wasn't sure what to do next. He did it often enough when writing essays; he would tap his chin, chew on the end of his quill, and rub his head, all in that order.

_I didn't want you to find out that way._

James held back a snort. There really wasn't any way to break the news that two of your friends, your male friends, were fucking each other besides being blunt and just saying it.

_What's done is done. I don't-_

James paused, sucking on the end of his own quill, surprisingly not a sugar quill, before he continued.

_I don't have a problem with it._

Sitting there a little shocked by his own statement, James found it to be completely true. Sirius and Remus were so completely right for each other, despite their little quarrels, and who was James to judge them for it? Remus took the note with a shaky hand, and James couldn't help the smile that rose to his face as Remus's mouth dropped open. The look in his eyes told James that he'd been expecting a lot more resistance with the information, and James's booming laugh in response to the expression on Remus's face cost them five points from Gryffindor.

It was worth it.

**[.o.o.o.o.]**

**A/N:** Like I said, a vague description. I picked this back up thanks to my friend, Nick. I tried to write more than usual to make up for the year-plus delay, so I hope I didn't disappoint. Again, anyone who'd like to offer themselves as a beta-reader would be amazing since, yes, I still don't have spell-check or grammar-check on my computer. Thanks to La Nuit Blanche and EdwardsLily for their encouraging reviews of chapter two. Reviews and concrit welcome as always!


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